This morning I woke up early and though I had planned on sleeping in the cool weather outside motivated me to make a run out to Smith Point to see if any hawks were moving. Smith Point is a peninsula that juts out between Galveston and Trinity Bays. The thing that makes it interesting (at least when it comes to birds) this time of year is that, much like Cape May, NJ, it acts as a funnel that concentrates birds that are migrating south. As I headed to Smith Point the weather was looking pretty dreary and I had the strong feeling that I was making a mistake going but I decided to press on and take my chances on the weather. When I arrived I was pleased that it was not raining and there were some raptors moving. Most of the birds I saw were Sharp-shinned Hawks like this one and I was delighted to see a couple come close in the early morning light.

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